SOUTH FORT MYERS - A suspicious vehicle and a bicycle chained to a fallen tree lead Florida wildlife officers to the spot where two men were charged with illegally taking an alligator – about a mile away from their South Fort Myers home.

Rodrigo Flores Trojillo, 33, and Mayolo Reyes, 51, both of the 11000 block of Kimble Road, Fort Myers, were charged with the felony of killing an alligator and misdemeanors of trespassing on Lee County Utility property. Four other men were cited for trespassing.

About 8 p.m. Friday, two Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officers noticed a white Chevrolet Cavalier parked on the north side of Summerlin Road near the abandoned Zoomers Amusement Park, east of San Carlos Boulevard, said Gary Morse, and FWC spokesman.

The officers saw tracks going into a wooded area that they knew contained several large lakes. They followed the tracks to where a felled tree lay over a fence. The fenced property is owned by Lee County Utilities, Morse said. Several "no trespassing" signs in English and Spanish are posted in the area.

The officers saw Reyes and Trojillo in the distance and they had another bicycle with them. The pair and the other four men were using cast nets to catch tilapia, Morse said.

The other four men walked out of the area and were issued trespassing citations.

Soon, Reyes and Trojillo walked out of the area and the officers found not only tilapia, but also a small, skinned alligator in a plastic bag, Morse said.

The men told the officers where they had tossed the skins and other remains, but the officers could not locate it, and they could not determine the gator's size, Morse said.

If convicted of the felony, the men face fines of up to $5,000 and up to five years in prison.